Cleaning Grout Lines

housepainter

What is the best product to use when cleaning grout lines on tile floors.

Thanks

angus242

Are you referring to cleaning dirty grout or when you're initially setting grout?

housepainter

Cleaning grout that is dirty from day to day use.

cleveman

There was a thread about this a while back. I use phosphoric acid, but it was pointed out that sulfamic acid is a less expensive alternative. I have no experience with the sulfamic, but maybe will try when I need to do it again. The sulfamic is apparently available through Floridatile or at home depot or lowe's. I got the phosphoric at a local tile store. It was under the Superior brand.

When you're done cleaning, you'll want to seal.

Moreover, you'll have a greater appreciation for black grout.

housepainter

Thanks for the info. My Kitchen and Sunroom have gotta be cleaned up.

appreciate it.

Bill_Vincent

HELL NO!! Don't use acid just for cleaning the joints!! Acid should be used for one reason, and one reason only-- and that's cleaning excess grout haze off the face of the tile after initially grouting the tile, and even then that's only IF it's needed!! I can't remember the last time I used acid on a floor!!

For giving your grout joints a good stiff cleaning, mix up a solution of oxyclean-- about double the concentration they suggest on the side of the container. Use a scrub brush to agitate the joints, and once you've scrubbed them down pretty well, use s shop-vac to suck up the dirty solution. Then do the same thing again, but with clear hot water. Again, suck it up with a shop-vac. You'll see a huge improvement. The reason for the sop-vac is that a mop will just push alot of the dirt back into the joints. The vacumn will pick it right up.

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MIbeachbuilder

oxyclean does work but you do have to agitate it and let it sit FOREVER.

For white grout, i use diluted bleach and let dwell a few minutes.

For colored grout (and deep down stains) i use acid but its nasty stuff so use a respirator when you do it.

If it is just a surface dirt, try a magic eraser (Mr. Clean)

when your done, seal the hell out of it so you dont have to work so hard at it next time.

Bud Cline

OK, Let's go through this again.

You must understand that none of the acids have any effect what-so-ever on soil or dirt (if you will) or any kind of stains or oils or any topical contaminate for that matter.

The acids go after Portland cement. That's what they do. They are designed to attack the chemical makeup of Portland cement. Yes they may have a cleaning effect but at the same time what they are really doing is DESTROYING THE GROUT. They are lifting good grout to get to more grout and taking away the stain in the process.

To think that these acids are some kind of a miracle drug to be used at the drop of a hat is a big mistake. It damages the grout and in some cases can damage the tile and in more cases can damage your health.

HELL NO!! Don't use acid just for cleaning the grout joints.

Bill_Vincent

We won't even talk about what the fumes will do to surrounding surfaces.

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cleveman

I'm not a chemist, but we're talking about phosphoric acid here, not hydrochloric (muriatic).

No one would recommend cleaning dirt with muriatic acid, and we are talking about dirt, grease, and stains (god knows what) on grout. We don't want to remove the grout, we want to remove the dirt.

I would also recommend starting with something mild, no stronger than vinegar. I think this is your main point, and it is well taken.

Vinegar of course is also an acid!

You've also got your citric acids which appear quite frequently in cleaning products.

The phosphoric doesn't attack the cementious substance like muriatic does. It is much more mild. It is being sold as "tile grout cleaner".

I have cleaned a lot of brickwork and a bit of tilework with hydrochloric acid with excellent results, although your warning about metal surfaces should be observed. And my objective in both cases was to remove mortar or grout, not dirt, from the surface of the brick or tile.

I hope this clears it up-you can start with a mild cleaner, such as vinegar to remove dirt and stains. Phosphoric acid can be used to remove stubborn stains. Hydrochloric or muriatic acid won't do any good whatsoever on dirt or stains.

vwovw

gotcha. I was doing some snow removal for a customer a day ago. We send out my wifes business card with their bill. Got a bite. Wife has a cleaning business and the woman wanted to know if she cleans grout lines on porcelain tile. My wife is pregnant and she laughed and said she won't work with toxic chemicals. I'll tell her to use a mild organic cleaner. I really don't want to mess with it.

MIbeachbuilder

i would never use muriatic acid. but... if you use the phosphoric, still use a respirator. (i have asthma, so i always wear some sort of mask)

Bill_Vincent

Cleveman-- ANY acid-- even vinegar, nevermind phosphoric or sulfamic acid-- will break grout down. the way ANY acid works on grout is by attacking the lime in the cement. It's all a matter of acids and bases. Remember back when we were kids in school? In every school, there was ALWAYS someone who did a school project involving vinegar and baking soda, mixing the two together and watching them erupt. It's no different with any acid and grout, only instead of baking soda, it's lime that the acid is reacting with. If you use acid too many times, you start to burn the grout joint, and sooner or later, the grout will begin to powder out. There are also many tiles where acids will harm the glaze, as well. These are just some of the reasons why TCNA has come out against acid washing, even for cleaning grout haze, even though it used to be considered part of every job, years ago. It's kind of going the way of greenboard and mastic in showers. There's a better way.

__________________
"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're probably right."

http://www.creativeceramicandmarble.com